Supporting stand for infants



, 1943. A. J. OUELLETTE SUPPORTING STAND FOR INFANTS Ju!y 13 Filed March 23, 1939 27 .3 /6 JWJUWW Patented July 13, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE v SUPPORTING STAND FOR INFANTS 1 Alfred J o euette, 'st. Paul, Minn. Application March 23, 1939; Serial No. 263,686

(Cl. 155l .54=

6 Claims.

=My invention. relates-to a' supporting stand for infants too young to sit or stand without support, wherein it is desired to provide a correct device capable of supporting a small baby in a comfortable position.

An infant under six to eight months ofage,

or before the sitting up stage in'the life of the baby, must lie flatly on its back or be supported in the arms of an attendant. It is desirable for the health and comfort, as well as for the development of the infant, to change its position 'from'the helpless prone posture necessarily assumed. Care must be taken to so manage these changes that neither sudden, extreme, nor uncomfortable positions be forced upon the infant. The head andback of the infant must be carefully supported at alltimes until the develop- -ment allows the baby to sit up erect, unsupported, in the second half year of life.

and willbe better entertained without attention.

I have also found that a support holding the baby at an angle has a tendency to strengthen the back of the infant, as the child may more readily raise into upright position. In many months of experiments with various supports, '1 have found that the baby who spends several hours'a day in a supporting stand of my design is apparently more satisfied and contented than other babies not so supported; and the task of-the attendant is greatly lightened.

" In bottle feeding a baby, it is necessary to either hold the baby in the arms, or else to find some means of' supporting the baby during the feeding period. Pillows-and cushions are usually used for this purpose. I have, in my experience, witnessed severalnear tragedies where the head of a baby thus supported has slipped between the pillows tocut off the air supply. It

is therefore a purpose of my invention to provide a-means to support the baby in a comfortable, butsufficiently confined position, to prevent any danger of such a tragedy. A baby may be supported by my stand in such a manner that there is no danger of suffocation pillows or cushions. At the-same time bothof the hands the movement but due to the fact that the baby is unable to period of time of considerable length prior'to a bowel movement, until the child learns from experience that the chamber will be removed after This task is extremely tedious,

support itself in a sitting position for any length of time, it has been thought necessary for the mother to hold the baby in this sitting position. It is a purpose of the present invention to provide a supporting stand which will enable the infant to be supported upon a suitable chamber without assistance; and it has been my experience that by this means the baby may be trained as well as would otherwise be possible without the usual accompanying work on the part of the attendant.

It is a further object of my invention to provide an inclined stand in which the baby may be supported during the hours when the child is awake. This permits development of the body of the infant without any strain regardless of the age of the baby. The position of the body may be changed without danger of causing injury to the neck, chest, or any part of the body, and at the same time the arms and legs-are free at all times. When thus supported, the baby can seethe mother moving about, and can amuse itself more readily than when lying fiat in a crib o-r cradle. The baby accordingly remains contented and amused without unnecessary attention, and at the same timethe attendant need not worry about injury to the child by a change inits position, or by falling from itsbed.

It is a feature of my invention to provide a device in which an infant may be supported at any angle, so that aS the child grows older, it can sit more nearly erect. This effect may be realized without necessity of laying the baby upon pillows or cushions; and thus avoids the dangers accompanying their use. My stand provides a relatively firm support for the back of. the child, so that it may exercise its back more readily, and sit up more easily.

I .have also found that with my supporting stand, a baby may be better support-ed out of doors, or on a beach. The danger of the baby's rolling off a blanket and onto the sandis obviated; and less sand and dust are blown .upon the childs face. Furthermore, the child may be readily carried in my stand without any danger of injury, eitherina car or other vehicle, or in .sides II, and a base I2.

of a flat sheet of wood or any other suitable the arms. The baby is firmly secured in my stand; and by securing the stand in position in a vehicle, the danger of having the child roll from a seat in the vehicle is avoided.

These and other objects and novel features of my invention will be more clearly and fully set forth in the following specification and claims.

In the drawing forming a part of my specification:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my supporting stand supporting a baby therein.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the stand itself, showing the construction of the same.

Figure 3 is a vertical section through the center of the supporting stand.

Figure 4 is a front elevation view of my supporting stand with a chamber secured in place thereon. I

Figure 5 is a back elevational view of my supporting stand.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the chamber holding device used in conjunction with my stand.

Figure 7 is a detail view of a manner in which the easel for holding my stand inclined may b attached.

Figure 8 is a perspective view of a modified form of stand construction.

My supporting stand A comprises a back I0, The back I9 is formed material, having substantially parallel side edges I3 to which the sides II are attached. The base I2 is preferably at substantially right angles with respect to the back III to form a seat for the infant; while the sides restrict the side movement of the child.

The sides I I are cut away at the top to permit free arm movement, as indicated at I4. The sides II extend below the base I2, and taper from the hold the infant toward the center of the stand.

This is particularly important when my standis being used to support a tiny baby only a few weeks old. The belt I9 is designed to encircle the infant beneath the arms; and a buckle in any desired position holds the belt with suflicient tautness to securely hold the child in place. A second strap 2|, which may be of waterproof material, is formed with a loop 22 encircling the belt I9 and secured at its lower end by suitable means to the bottom of the base I2, centrally between the sides II. This strap 2I, as well as the belt I9, is readily removable for cleaning purposes. As may be seen in Figure 1, this strap is positioned between the legs of the infant, and prevents the child from slipping out of place.

A hand hole 23 is provided in the back I0 near the top of the same to permit the stand A tobe readily lifted or carried. A securing strap 24 may also be provided, removably'secured to an attaching bracket 25 on the rear of the back II]. This strap may be pinned to the upholstery of a piece of furniture, or of a car, or may be tied to a convenient member to hold the stand inclined at any desired angle. This strap, as well as the other straps, is preferably removable for cleaning purposes; and the strap 24 is shown looped about the bracket 25, and the end of the strap attached by the button or snap 26 to the body of the strap.

A supporting brace 21 may be provided which may be adjusted in length, and which may be adjusted to any angle with respect to the back III. A pair of angle brackets 29 are attached in spaced relation on the rear surface of the back ID. The flattened ends 30 0f a pair of tubular members 3I"are pivotally secured by bolts 32 to these brackets 29. Wing nuts 33 on the bolts 32 may clamp the tubular members 3| in any adjusted angular position with relation to the brackets 29. If desired, the flattened ends 36 and the brackets 29 maybe provided with oooperating notched or corrugated surfaces, or may be provided with friction surfaces which prevent relative rotation when the thumb nuts 33 are tightened.

A U-shaped rod or tubular member 34 fitsinto both of the tubular members 3|, and are secured in adjusted relation by thumb screws 35. I By adjustment of the wing. nuts 33. and the thumb screws 35, the angle and height of the stand may be adjusted.

In order to hold a chamberfB in place upon the base I2, I provide a chamberholder 36, best illustrated in Figure 6 of the drawing. This holder 1 36 may be of a continuous rod bent-into form to engage the chamber B to hold the same centrally upon the base. The rod is formed with a central arcuated portion 37 substantially semicircular in shape to engage beneath the rim 39 of thechamber B, The ends of the arcuated portion 3 1 are bent outwardly to provide forwardly extending arms 46, and are bent downwardly to form substantially vertical arms 4| and terminate in a pair of spaced horizontally extending ends v42, which may bend toward or away from one another if desired. These ends 42 are designed to extend through a pair of spaced holes 43 in the reinforcing cross support I6; and the arms 42 must be bent intoparallel relationship before insertion through these holes 43. Thus the holder 36 engages the cross support I6 under spring tension so that it will not be accidentally disengaged. If it is desired, an additional locking means mayv be provided formaintaining the holderv 36 in chamber supporting position. 7 r

The pad C is secured overlying the back In and base I2 as illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawing. This pad is preferably formed of waterproof material, and forms a cushion for the infant secured in my supporting stand A, Hooks 38 are provided at'the top of the, back II] to sup,- portthepadC. V In Figure 8 of the drawing, I disclose a support of a slightly different construction. In this form of stand D, a'frame formedof tubular or rod material, rigid or, flexible, designated in general at 44, is covered with a fabric covering 45,. The frame 44 is bent at substantially right angles to provide a forwardly extending base portion 41 having a pair of supporting legs 49 formed therein to tilt the back 46 at anangle with thejventical. Side members 50 are formed connecting the forward end of the base portion- 41 to the back portion 46 at a point spaced. from the base.

A cross brace 5| is preferably provided-to better support the frame; and thiscross brace connects the lower ends of the U-shaped back portion 46.

A cross strap 52 connects the side opposed sides of the back portion 46, and loops forwardly to encircle the infant under the arms. The ends of the strap 52 are buttoned, snapped, or otherwise attached together to make the strap separable. A strap 5% is provided with a loop 55' encircling the strap 52. The lower end of this strap 54 is looped about a cross brace connecting the forward ends of the base members 41, and is removably secured by means of a button or snap 56.

The fabric covering 45 is of any desired shape, but is preferably formed so that it may be removed for cleaning purposes. This may be accomplished in any desired manner; but in the form shown, the covering is formed in two parts 51 and 58. One of these parts 51 forms a covering for the U-shaped portion 46 of the frame, and includes side wings 59 to cover the upper parts of the sides of the stand D. The second part 58 of the covering is applied from the front, and forms a covering for the base and for the forward portions 60 of the sides. The two parts of the covering may be attached together in any suitable manner along the seam Bl between the base and the back of my stand D.

The stand may readily be formed of wicker or of similar materia1 if desired, as indicated in Figure 11. The wicker may be formed in the shape desired, and may resemble Figure 2, Figure 8, or any other form preferred.

It will be seen that the infant is securely held in place in my stand by the cross strap and the strap connecting the cross strap and the base of the stand; and that the stand may be inclined at any angle to the vertical. The padding is secured to the stand, and accordingly no injury to the infant is possible. This arrangement also obviates any danger of smothering the child in a number of pillows or cushions.

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have described the principles of operation and construction of my stand; and while I have endeavored to set forth the best embodiments thereof, I desire to have it understood that this is only illustrative of a means of carrying out my invention and that obvious changes may be made within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of my inven tion.

I claim:

1. A supporting stand for an infant including a back, a base secured at substantially right angles thereto, means for securing an infant against said back, and sides connected to said base and said back; said sides having tapered lower edges and extending substantially below said base at the front of said base, and inclining upwardly and rearwardly to the lower edge of said back.

2. A seating device for infants for use in combination with an upright support, said device being designed to rest in an inclined position upon the ground, the device including a rigid back, a bottom board forming a seat arranged in fixed relation to the bottom edge of said back at substantially right angles thereto, and sides rigidly secured to said back and bottom board,

a strap loop secured to said seating device and extending forwardly therefrom to encircle the body of an infant to support the infant on said seat, and a flexible attaching means secured to ,said rigid back for attachment to the upright support, the upper end of said back resting against said support, said seating device resting upon the ground at the juncture between said bottom board and rigid back to change the angle of inclination of said rigid back.

I 3. A seating device for infants for use in combination with an upright support, said device being designed to rest in an inclined position upon the ground, the device including a rigid back, a bottom board'forming a. seat arranged in fixed relation to thebottom edge of said back 1 at substantially right angles thereto, and sides rigidly secured to said back and bottom board,

, including a rigid back, a bottom board forming a seat arranged in fixed relation to the bottom edge of said back at substantially right angles thereto, a strap loop secured to said seating device and extending forwardly therefrom designed to encircle the body of an infant to support the infant on said seat, and a flexible attaching means secured to said rigid back for attachment with the upright support, the upper end of said back resting against said support.

5. A seating device for infants in combination with an upright support and designed to rest in an inclined position upon the ground, the device including a rigid back, abottom board forming a seat arranged in fixed relation to the bottom edge of said back at substantially right angles thereto, a cushion extending over said back and seat and secured adjacent the top of said back, sides rigidly secured to said back and bottom board, a strap loop secured to said seating device and extending forwardly therefrom designed to encircle the body of an infant to support the infant on said seat, said seating device pivoting about the juncture between said bottom board and rigid back to change the angle of inclination of said rigid back, the upper portion of said back resting against said support.

' 6. A supporting stand for an infant in combination with an upright support including a rigid back designed to rest in an inclined position upon the ground against the support, a base secured at substantially right angles to said back, means for securing the infant to said back, and flexible attaching means secured to said rigid back for attachment with said support for retaining said back at any desired angle with thevertical.

ALFRED J. OUELLET'I'E. 

